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Sharapova marches on, Venus bows out
Bhupathi-Raymond enter second round
Pakistan edge out Korea 3-2
ICC clears
Harbhajan
England crush Bangladesh
Edwards rips through Pak
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Pathan scalps 4 for Middlesex
Ganguly, Dravid recommended for Khel Ratna
Narain falters in qualifying session
Atwal tied in 14th place
Mankiran rules the pool
Eligibility rules for varsity meets unchanged
Sporting Clube win Super Cup
Hoshiarpur to meet Jalandhar in final
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Sharapova marches on, Venus bows out Paris, May 28 The Wimbledon champion, a quarterfinalist here last year, will next tackle Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain. Former world number one Justine Henin-Hardenne stumbled past Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the fourth round. The 2003 champion, seeded 10th, produced an error-strewn display but fought back strongly to extend her winning streak to 18 matches and set up a clash with US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. With her forehand yielding a succession of errors, Henin-Hardenne took 25 minutes to win her first game and though she recovered from 5-0 to 5-4, she dropped her serve again to lose the set to the world number 34. But the Belgian, who won consecutive titles in Charleston, Warsaw and Berlin in the run-up to Roland Garros, hit back to level the match and then held on to advance to the last 16. Svetlana Kuznetsova equalled her best performance at the French Open when she beat American Marissa Irvin 6-1, 2-6, 6-0 today to reach the fourth round. The Russian, seeded sixth, recovered from a lapse of concentration in the second set to romp through the third and move into the last 16. Earlier, American 11th seed Venus Williams was sensationally dumped out yesterday by 15-year-old Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva who won their third round tie 6-3, 1-6, 6-1. The Bulgarian, the reigning French Open junior champion, now goes on to face Switzerland’s Emmanuelle Gagliardi for a place in the quarterfinals. Marat Safin wins
Russia’s Marat Safin won the battle of the former world number ones today with a 7-6, 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 win over Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero to reach the last 16. The third-round contest had the potential to produce fireworks since Australian Open champion Safin had accused the Spaniard of acting like a 14-year-old after losing to him in the second round in Hamburg earlier this month. But the Russian third seed stuck to his task on court and ended the challenge of 2003 Roland Garros champion Ferrero in three hours 45 minutes. Safin will next face another Spaniard, Tommy Robredo, for a place in the last eight. Defending men’s champion Gaston Gaudio enjoyed another easy workout to reach the fourth round yesterday with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win over Spain’s Felix Mantilla. He clinched victory with a drop volley after 2-1/2 hours and next meets Spaniard David Ferrer. Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean outlasted the Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek 6-1, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in another third round tie to set up a fourth-round clash with hot favourite Rafael Nadal of Spain. Other results: Men’s singles: Guillermo Coria (Argentina) b Jurgen Melzer (Austria) 6-1, 6-1, 7-6; Tommy Robredo (Spain) b David Sanchez (Spain) 6-4, 6-3, 6-1; Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) b Tommy Haas (Germany) 7-5, 6-0, 6-0; Jose Acasuso (Argentina) b Filippo Volandri (Italy) 3-0 retired; Mariano Puerta (Argentina) b Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. Women’s singles: Nuria Llagostera Vives (Spain) b Nathalie Dechy (France) 7-6(1), 6-3; Nadia Petrova (Russia) b Shahar Peer (Israel) 6-3, 6-1; Elena Bovina (Russia) b Tatiana Golovin (France) 6-3, 7-5; Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Switzerland) b Emilie Loit (France) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; Francesca Schiavone (Italy) b Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Germany) 7-6, 7-5.
— Reuters, AFP |
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Bhupathi-Raymond enter second round
Paris, May 28 The unseeded Pascual-Erlich pair could not pose much problem for the seventh seeded Indo-American duo on Court 16 and Bhupathi and Raymond swept away their rivals with a straight-set 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the second round, the pair will meet Bhupathi’s doubles partner Todd Woodbridge, who partners Slovak Katarina Srebotnik. The Woodbridge-Srebotnik pair dropped a set before emerging winners 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 against the German-Australian pair of Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Julian Knowle.
— UNI |
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Pakistan edge out Korea 3-2
Kuala Lumpur, May 28 Pakistan won the thrilling contest under lights at the Bukit Jalil Stadium 3-2 with all their goals coming in the first 35 minutes of the match while their rivals scored once in each half. Mohammed Imran, the rookie drag-flicker playing in his maiden competition at the highest level, drew first blood scoring in the second minute from a penalty corner to give his side the lead. Though Kang Seong Jang equalised in the 14th minute with an almost similar effort, Pakistan immediately surged ahead when Shakeel Abbasi deflected in a Rehan Butt pass just a minute later. A spectacular goal by Akhtar Ali in the 30th minute saw the side going to the break with a comfortable 3-1 lead. If Pakistan dominated the first half, the Asian Games gold medallists did their best after changing ends making life difficult for the opposition defenders. Jang Jong Hyun’s penalty corner conversion in the 44th minute set the match for an exciting finish, but the Pakistanis kept their nerve in the face of some severe Korean onslaught to emerge the winners. Pakistan, who had beaten New Zealand in their opening encounter, moved to the top of the table with six points from two matches. Both India and Australia are on four points from two outings each.
— PTI |
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ICC clears Harbhajan Kolkata: Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, under the ICC scanner for his bowling action, has been cleared by the cricket’s world governing body. Disclosing this to PTI, Indian cricket Board President Ranbir Singh Mahendra said the decision was taken by the ICC during the day. Describing the decision as a “victory for the BCCI”, Mahendra said on the phone that the ICC had accepted the arguments put forward by the Board in a missive sometime back. “The ICC have upheld our stand,” he said.
Mahendra said Harbhajan would not have to undergo any drill under a bio-mechanical expert. “But as per the information with me, David Richardson will come from the ICC to have a word with him,” he said.
— PTI |
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England crush Bangladesh
London, May 28 Bangladesh, who have now won just one of their 37 Tests, were bowled out for 159 with Simon Jones taking three for 29 and Andrew Flintoff three for 44. Khaled Mashud held England up with a determined 44 but was last man out when fending Flintoff to Thorpe at short leg. Anwar Hossain was two not out. Bangladesh resumed on 90 for five, still needing a further 330 runs to make England bat again after the hosts piled, up 528 for three declared including 196 from Marcus Trescothick and 120 from captain Michael Vaughan. Aftab Ahmed (26 not out) and Khaled Mashud (six not out) resumed after five wickets had been lost in just 22 overs with Glamorgan quick Jones taking two for 12 in six. And it took England just nine balls on Saturday to take three more wickets and reduce Bangladesh to 97 for eight. With the last ball of the day’s first over Matthew Hoggard had Ahmed, who’d struck an extra-cover driven boundary off the Yorkshire quick’s fourth delivery, lbw for 32. Then two balls later Mohammad Rafique went for a first ball nought, caught by wicket-keeper Geraint Jones after fending at a rising delivery from fast bowler Stephen Harmison. Scoreboard Bangladesh (1st innings) 108 England (1st innings) 528-3 dec Bangladesh (2nd innings) Omar c Thorpe b S Jones 25 Iqbal c Flintoff b Hoggard 3 Bashar c Hoggard b S Jones 16 Ahmed lbw b Hoggard 32 Ashraful c Harmison Rahim c G Jones b Flintoff 3 Mashud c Thorpe b Flintoff 44 Rafique c G Jones b Harmison 0 Mortaza b Harmison 0 Hossain c Trescothick Hossain not out 2 Extras: (b-1, lb-4, nb-14) 19 Total:
(all out, 39.5 overs) 159 FoW: 1-15, 2-47, 3-57, 4-60, 5-65, 6-96,7-97, 8-97, 9-155. Bowling:
Hoggard 9-1-42-2, Harmison 10-0-39-2, Flintoff 9.5-0-44-3, S Jones 11-3-29-3.
— AFP |
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Edwards rips through Pak
Bridgetown, May 28 The 23-year-old fast bowler ripped through the inexperienced visitors’ batting yesterday as the home team, which totalled 345 on day one, secured a first innings lead of 201. Pakistan captain Younis Khan was the top scorer with 31. Corey Collymore took three for 20 while Reon King claimed two for 46. The West Indies, buoyed by an even 50 from Chris Gayle and a fluent 48 by Brian Lara, stretched their lead to a satisfying 369 as they closed on 168 for four in their second innings. Shahid Afridi took two for 26, including the scalp of Lara, and there was a wicket apiece for Danish Kaneria and Abdul Razzaq. Scoreboard West Indies (1st innings) 345 Pakistan (1st innings) Butt c Browne b Collymore 27 Afridi c Smith b Edwards 16 Hameed b Edwards 12 Khan c Collymore b Edwards 31 Khan c Browne b Collymore 9 Kamal c Sarwan b King 0 Razzaq lbw b Edwards 10 Akmal c Hinds b King 4 Rana Naved c Sarwan Ahmed b Edwards 6 Kaneria not out 4 Extras:
(4b, 4nb) 8 Total: (all out, 43.3 overs) 144 Fall of wickets:
1-26, 2-54, 3-76, 4-96, 5-96, 6-100, 7-113, 8-120, 9-132. Bowling: Edwards 14-1-38-5, Powell 10-4-36-0, King 11-1-46-2, Collymore 8.4-3-20-3. West Indies (2nd innings) Gayle c Asim Kamal Smith c Kamran Akmal Sarwan c Kamran Akmal Lara st Kamran Akmal Chanderpaul not out 37 Hinds not out 14 Extras:
(5lb, 3nb) 8 Total: ( 4 wickets, 46 overs) 168 Fall of wickets:
1-59, 2-64, 3-65, 4-137. Bowling: Naved 11-4-36-0, Shabbir 7-2-18-0, Kaneria 12-0-55-1, Razzaq 9-1-28-1, Afridi 7-1-26-2.
— AP |
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Pathan scalps 4 for Middlesex
London, May 28 After Middlesex captain Ben Hutton won the toss and decided to bat, the side piled up 401 in 126.5 overs, with Pathan contributing a useful 68-ball knock of 41, that included six hits to the fence. In reply, Sussex were all out for 332 in 94 overs. Opening the bowling for Middlesex, Pathan’s doubles strike pushed Sussex on the backfoot. Pathan first castled opener I.J. Ward
and then trapped R.R. Montgomery to leave Sussex reeling at 19 for two. Later, he had R.S.C. Martin-Jenkins caught by Scott and then caught R.J. Kirtley off his own bowling to complete a four-wicket haul. His bowling figures in the innings read 25-5-81-4. In their second essay, Middlesex reached 222 for eight from 60 overs, taking an overall lead of 291 runs. Pathan was batting on three and giving him company was M.M. Betts, who was yet to open his account.
— UNI |
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Ganguly, Dravid recommended for Khel Ratna
New Delhi, May 28 The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wrote to the Union Sports Ministry recommending the names of Ganguly and his deputy Rahul Dravid for outstanding performance in 2004. The award, instituted in 1991-92, carries a medal, a scroll of honour and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif were recommended for Arjuna Awards. This was disclosed by BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla, who said board Secretary S.K. Nair had written to the Sports Ministry, recommending the four names. Long jumper Anju Bobby George was awarded the Khel Ratna for 2003 for her bronze-medal-winning effort at the World Athletics championships in Paris the same year. Should either Ganguly or Dravid be awarded the Khel Ratna, he would be the second cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar (1997-98) to get the honour.
— PTI |
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Narain falters in qualifying session
Nurburgring, May 28 A new qualifying format, introduced after last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, ensured that the pole position was confirmed on Saturday after the Sunday morning session was scrapped and the grid decided on one single flying lap. Karthikeyan, who clocked 1 minute, 36.192 seconds to be ahead of only Christijan Albers of Minardi, said he had anticipated a difficult qualifying session today despite good practice in the morning. “With a track really dirty with not much grip, I was the third driver to go in qualifying this afternoon so the circuit was still very dusty. “Moreover, the track temperature was very high, I think it was close to 50 °C, therefore my car was quite difficult to drive. I have also made a small mistake, which cost me some time. Now we will focus on improving the car for my first race in Nurburgring tomorrow.” Heidfeld of BMW-Williams claimed the pole position in 1:30.081 after an impeccable lap that put him ahead of an almost perfect Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren (1:30.197) and team-mate Mark Webber (1:30.368). In the morning practice, Karthikeyan had managed 16th place after completing 12 laps, ahead of the second Sauber Petronas of Jacques Villeneuve while Tiago Monteiro spun his Jordan out before returning and setting the 18th best time. Christijan Albers was 19th in his Minardi ahead of team-mate Patrick Friesacher. During the fourth free practice session, Karthikeyan managed a quicker time, putting him ahead of Friesacher. “The sessions went well in general apart from a small spin for each driver. The Jordan Grand Prix team worked hard overnight and this morning to improve the EJ15’s balance,” Karthikeyan said. The Jordan team has run into trouble for using too many tyres in practice at the German track. Yesterday, the team was running its third car for newly signed driver Franck Montagny apparently allowing the Frenchman to run on six different sets of rubber in the course of the day, despite the fact that the rules say that the third driver can use only four sets. Although the team argued that this had been an inadvertent act, the FIA stewards ruled that Montagny had been unaware of the problem but as Jordan had gained an advantage from the action it should be banned from running the third car for one race, that is in Canada. Heidfeld, who finished second in the last Grand Prix at Monaco, continued his strong form to claim a thrilling maiden pole for Williams on his and engine manufacturer BMW’s home soil.
— PTI |
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Atwal tied in 14th place
Memphis, May 28 Atwal, who had a modest opening round of one-over 71, cracked a bogey-free 66 with three birdies in the first six holes and just one thereafter. His total was now three-under 137 at the par-70 Tournament Players Course at Southwind. Meanwhile, Daniel Chopra missed the cut with a second round of six-over 76, that saw him end at six-over 146 and go out, as the cut came at two-over. Justin Leonard shot a 5-under 65 in second round and extended his lead to five strokes after the second round. Leonard had six birdies and his first bogey in two days for a 13-under 127 total.
— PTI |
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Mankiran rules the pool
Sangrur, May 28 In 200 m individual medley she broke the record of Ropar’s Sukhman, which was 3:07.85 seconds. She covered the distance in 3:07.00. In 50 m breaststroke, she took 0:39.28 seconds to cover the distance. The previous record was 0:41.28, again in the name of Sukhman of Ropar. Results : Boys group 1-50 m free style-1. Ajaljot (Ldh), 2. Varun (Fzp), 3. Sumit (Sang). 200 m butter fly-1. Gagan (Fzp), 2. Harshit (Pta), 3. Chandeep (Jal). 4x200 m free style relay-1. Sangrur, 2. Patiala, 3. Ludhiana. Group II-50 w free style-1. Sohrab (Asr), 2. Iqbal (Sang), 3. Kamaljit (Pta). 400 m indi. med, 1. Nikhil (Ldh), 2. Amarvir (Sang), 3. Jashandeep (Rpr). 200 w buttorfly-1. Karandeep (Sang), 2. Amarvir (Sang), Nikhil (Ldh), 3. Gagandeep (Sang). Group-III 200 m indi. med.-1, Amarinder (Sang), 2. Jivanjot (Pta), 3. Adhiraj (Ldh). 100 m backstroke-1. Simarvir (Sang), 2. Satwantar (Pta), 3. Damandeep (Sang). 50 m backstroke-1. Adhiraj (Ldh), 2. Sukhjinder (Sang) 3. Stanlar (Pta). Group IV-4x50 m medlay relay-1. Sangrur, 2. Patiala, 3. Ludhiana. 50 m backstroke-1. Abhinav (Asr), 2. Harrop (Sang), 3. Jatindervir (Ldh). Girls group 1-150 m freestyle-1. Gurbinder (Hsp), 2. Amanjot (Pta), 3. Vasuda Sharma (Fzp). 200 m butterfly-1. Prabhjot (Rpr), 2. Nitika (Ldh), 3. Deenika (Ldh). Group II-1. 400 m indi, med. 1. Harsimran (Rpr), 2. Vikasdeep (Sang), 3. Jaspreet (Ldh). 50 m freestyle-1. Manjot (Pta), 2. Ramneet (Sang), 3. Harsimran (Ldh). 200 m butterfly-1. Harsimran (Rpr), 2. Chiranjiv (Ldh), 3. Jaspreet (Sang). Group-III-100 m backstroke-1. Jaskirat (Asr), 2. Navneet (Sang), 3. Manjot (Sang). 200 m indi. med. 1. Mankiran (Sang), 2. Arpanjit (Sang), 3. Barleen (Pta). 50 m breaststroke-1. Mankiran (Sang), 2. Arpanjit (Sang), 3. Parleen (Pta). Group-IV-50 m backstroke-1. Romy Mandal (Rpr), 2. Manvi (Fzr), 3. Richansha (Sang). |
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Eligibility rules for varsity meets unchanged
Amritsar, May 28 The meeting was held in Srinagar yesterday. Except five universities all other educational institutions raised their voice against the proposal. From Guru Nanak Dev University, two officials, Dr R.S. Bawa, Registrar, and Gurpreet Kaur Dhillon, Deputy Director, Sports, took part in the meeting. In the annual meet, AIU had put forward its new eligibility rules for participation in inter-varsity competitions that would allow open universities students to participate in these competitions. Senior sports officials here had felt that the move was aimed at scuttling the dominance of Guru Nanak Dev University in the AIU sports as it had lifted the coveted Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for a record 18th time. They felt that the universities located in metropolitan cities would have got advantage in recruiting established players. |
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Sporting Clube win Super Cup
Kozhikode, May 28 Dudu, who scored 21 goals in the just-concluded NFL to bag the best player and best forward awards, was in superb form as he struck in the 11th and 82nd minutes, while Chidi scored in the 24th minute to give a deserving win to Sporting, who had finished runner-up in the NFL. Handicapped by the absence of their main striker, Ranty Martins and four other frontline players, Dempo could not recover at any stage and had to suffer a severe onslaught from their rivals.
— PTI |
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Hoshiarpur to meet Jalandhar in final
Chandigarh, May 28 In the second semifinal, Jalandhar defeated Muktsar 2-0. Both goals were scored in the second half. |
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